APUSH chapters 7-8

Common Sense (pamphlet)

Written by Thomas Paine, Common Sense was published anonymously on January 10, 1776, during the Revolution. The pamphlet was an immediate success; in relation to population at the time, it had the largest sale and circulation of any book in American history. The message of Common Sense was one that proposed freedom for the colonies from British rule.

John Locke

(1632-1704) The English philosopher and physician John Locke is widely regarded as the Father of Liberalism and a major thinker of the Enlightenment. He was critical to the formulation of the social contract and development of political philosophy. His writings influenced many American Revolutionaries.

Samuel Adams

(1722-1803) The American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father, Samuel Adams was a leader of the American Revolution. He was an architect of the principles of American republicanism that helped to shape the political culture of the US. He was a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress.

Crispus Attucks

(1723-1770) Crispus Attucks was a soldier of Wampanoag and African descent. He was the first person killed in the Boston Massacre in 1770. He has been called the "first martyr of the revolution". He has also been seen as a black hero of the Revolution.

George Washington

(1732-1799) A dominant political and military of the United States of America from 1755 until his death in 1799. He lead the colonies in the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain, presided over the writing of the Constitution in 1787, and became the USA's first president. He pioneered the cabinet system and delivering an inaugural address. He was a dynamic leader who won the support of all types of Americans.

John Adams

(1735-1826) Lawyer, statesman, political theorist, and diplomat John Adams was a leader of independence in 1776 and the second president of the United States. He promoted republicanism and was a federalist. He was also a Founding Father. He was a delagate from Massachusetts and thus a persuasive force in having congress declare independence. He was also a major negotiator in peace terms with the British as a representative of Congress in Europe. He was George Washington's vice president for two terms.

Patrick Henry

(1736-1799) A skilled orator and politician active in leading the independence movement in Virginia in the 1770s. His most memorable speech, in reaction to the Stamp Act of 1765, was, "Give me Liberty, or give me Death!". He was a Founding Father, an influential supporter of Republicanism, and promoted the American Revolution. He later went on to oppose the US Constitution due to his anti-federal views, as he feared an endangerment of state and individual rights.

Thomas Paine

(1737-1809) Author, pamphleteer, radical, intellectual, and Founding Father Thomas Paine was famous for his influential pamphlet Common Sense. Common Sense advocated independence from Great Britain. He emigrated from Britain to the partake in the American Revolution in 1774. He later went on to partake in the French Revolution and write the Rights of Man (1791).

Benedict Arnold

(1741-1801) Benedict Arnold was a general in the American Revolutionary War. He is famously known for changing his allegiance from the Continental Army to the British Army after a plan of his was foiled to give a fort in West Point, NY to the British.

Thomas Jefferson

(1743-1826) Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the third president of the US from 1801-1809. He was also a founding father. Jefferson was also an advocate of Jeffersonian Democracy. He represented Virginia in the Continental Congress. He envisioned America to be an "Empire of Liberty".

John Jay

(1745-1829) John Jay was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, and Founding Father. He became the first Chief Justice of the United States in 1789. He helped form American foreign policy with being ambassador with Spain and France and securing important peace terms with the British in Jay's Treaty (Treaty of London 1794).

Marquis de Lafayette

(1757-1834) A French aristocrat and military officer, de Lafayette was a general in the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He was a critical component in negotiating for an increase of support from France. After the American Revolution, he returned to France to partake in the French Revolution.

Boston Tea Party

A direct action taken by American colonists on December 16, 1773 against the British government and the British East India Company (which controlled all tea imports to the colonies). A group of colonists boarded three British ships with tea barred from leaving port, and threw the tea into the water, thus destroying it. The action was partially due to resistance to the Tea Act, especially on the basis of not being taxed by locally elected representives. The event would be critical in the lead up to the American Revolution.

Mercenaries

A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict who is not a national or a party to the conflict, with the main purpose personal gain. In the American Revolution, the British used Hessian soldiers from Germany to supplement their loyalist ranks.

Sons of Liberty

A political group made of American patriot colonists. They formed to protect rights they believed the British were usurping after 1766, such as oppressive taxes. In 1765, many such secret groups formed. The Sons of Liberty were responsible for the Boston Tea Party and a counter-mobilization that led to the 1775 American Revolution.

Townshend Acts

A series of 5 acts passed by the British Parliament in 1767. They were named after the proposer, Charles Townsend. The purpose of the acts was to: raise revenue in the colonies to pay the salaries of judges and governors so the colonists could be ruled independently, create a more efficient way of enforcing compliance with trade regulations, punish New York for failing to observe the 1765 Quartering Act, and to establish the precedent that the British Parliament could tax the colonies. Such acts met with resistence, leading to occupation by British forces in Boston in 1768.

Social Contract

An idea used to explain the appropraite relationship between individuals and their government. This idea was critical to the political idea of government by consent of the governed. The people must agree to abide by common rules and accept corresponding duties. Individuals form political parties by process of mutal consent.

Continental Army

Established by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775 to coordinate military efforts of the colonies against Great Britain. It was formed at the outbreak of the American Revolution and was supplamented by local militias. It was commaded by George Washington throughout the war. Most of the Continental Army was disbanded after the Treaty of Paris in 1783, and the remaining units helped to form the US Army.

Lexington-Concord

Fought on April 19, 1775 near Boston, the battles of Lexignton and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolution. They marked the very first open engagements between the colonies and Great Britain. The battles ended in victory for the Colonial militias after ther British were sent to search for military supplies of the militias.

First Continental Congress

Meeting on September 5, 1774 in Philadelphia, the congress composed of 12 of 13 delegates of the American Colonies. It was first called in response to the Coercive Acts, and be a venue where actions such as boycotts would be enacted.

Natural Rights (theory)

Natural Rights is a political theory that asserts that an individual enters into society with certain basic rights that no government can deny or interfere with. Such a doctrine can be seen in the writings of John Locke. Classic expressions of Natural Rights can be seen in the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the American Bill of Rights (1791).

Salutary Neglect

Salutary neglect was an undocumented but long-lasting policy of the British avoiding stirct enforcement of parliamentary laws, laws intended to keep the colonies obediant to Britiain. The policy lasted 1607-1763, and trade regulations and laws were made quite lenient. Tension was called by sudden introduction of Acts such as the Stamp Act and Sugar Act. Even the Navigation Acts were not enforced for a time. One British PM, Robert Walpole, stated, "if no restrictions were placed on the colonies, they would flourish".

Committees of Correspondance

Shadow governments formed by Patriot leaders of the 13 Colonies just before the American Revolution. The Committees shared plans with each other and superseded colonial legislatures and royal officials. The Maryland Committee of Correspondance was critical to setting up the First Continental Congress. The Committees helped govern at a local level and partook in acts to help the cause of the Revolution.

Coercive (Repressive) Acts/Intolerable Acts

Terms used to describe a series of acts passed in 1774 by the British Parliament. The acts were punitive and made in response to the 1773 Boston Tea party incident. Outrage and resistence resulted. The acts hoped to make an example of Massachusetts and reverse the growing trend of colonial resistance that started with the 1765 Stamp Act. The acts resulted in the formation of the First Continental Congress to coordinate a protest. Tensions would escalate and be released in the American Revoloution a year later.

2nd Continental Congress

The 2nd convention of delegates from the American 13 Colonies meeting on May 10, 1775 in Philadelphia soon after the Revolution ended. The congress managed the war effort and treaties and helped move the colonies toward independence by adopting the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Congress made the Articles of Confederation, which legally established the USA as a confederation of sovereign states.

Loyalists/Tories

The American Colonists who remained loyal to the British Cown during the American Revolution. They were known as Tories, Royalists, King's Men, and Loyalists. Non-loyalists were known as Patriots. An estimated 15-20% of colonists were Loyalists and after the Revolution about 20% of the Loyalists fled to other parts of the British Empire.

Patriots/Whigs

The American colonists who revolted against the British Empire during the American Revolution. Their leaders in July 1776 declared the USA an independent nation. Their rebellion was based upon the philosophy of Republicanism. The Patriots came from a variety of backgrounds. Their motto was, "No Taxation Without Representation". They were also known as: American Whigs, Revolutionaries, Congress-Men, and Rebels.

Declatory Act

The Declatory Act was an Act passed by the British Parliament in 1766 that accopmanied the repeal of the Stamp Act of 1765. The government repealed the Stamp Act due to boycotts that dealt a blow to British trade, thus the Declatory Act was made to justify a repeal and save face. Also, the Act stated that the Authority of Parliament stretched from Britain to America, as well as Parliament having the authority to make binding laws on the American colonies.

Stamp Act

The Stamp Act was an Act passed by the British Parliament specifically upon the American Colonies. The Act required many printed materials in the colonies to be made on stamped paper made in London, which carried an embossed revenue stamp. The British forces in North America had to be paid for, and the British taxed the colonists as they saw the colonists as the beneficiaries of such troop presence. However, colonists saw this as a violation of their English rights to be taxed without consent, especially from a distant power.

Sugar Act

The Sugar Act was a revenue-raising act passed by the British Parliament on April 5, 1764. The earlier Molasses Act of 1733 failed to collect taxes effectively as the the colonies evaded it. The Sugar Act halved the tax from the Molasses Act and had more measures to ensure effective means of tax collecting. Colonists responded with suspicion of the Parliament's intents and helped lead to the Revolution.

Tea Act

The Tea Act was an Act passed by British Parliament that was aimed at reducing the massive surplus of tea held by the British East India Company in their London warehouses. The Act wanted to also undercut the price of smuggled tea that found its way to the colonies. Thus, this was intended to have colonists purchase tea under the Townsend Acts and implicitly accept Parliament's right of taxation.

Yorktown

The battle of Yorktown in 1781 saw a combined American and French force decisively defeat the British forces under General Cornwallis in the final part of the Yorktown campaign. This was the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War, as the surrender of Cornwallis' army prompted the British to negotiate for an end to the conflict.

Boston Massacre

The event known as the Boston Massacre occured on March 5, 1770. The event saw five civilian men killed in Boston by British redcoats. The British redcoats were stationed to protect officials since 1768, and to enforce unpopular legislation. Tense sodier-civilian relationships soon led harassment of a British sentry and soon a small company of British troops fired upon the crowd. Five men eventually died, including an African-American named Crispus Attucks.